Zoids: Chaos Renewed
by Leerex
Summary: Three years after the defeat of the second Deathsaurer, a new threat arises. Few know of it, and it plans to destroy everything that the Guardian Force has striven to accomplish, and to end the fragile peace between the Guylos Empire and the Helic Republic. Reviews are much appreciated.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The Death Stinger had been defeated. The world was allowed to know that. However, they would not know what happened afterward. They would not know about the Dark Kaiser, Gunther Prozen. They would not know about the Ultimate Deathsaurer. And they would not know about Zoid Eve.

The reason for this was simple; they could not risk its discovery. Those who witnessed Zoid Eve and the Deathsaurer were told to keep quiet. Revealing the events of that day to anyone would be considered high treason, punishable by death. Its existence and location were covered up by the Guylos and Helic militaries, and were only known to those few who participated in the battle. The civilian residents of Zi could not know Zoid Eve existed, or the world would face destruction.

Both the Guylos Empire and the Helic Republic faced heavy losses, both civilian and military, that fateful day. But it would not happen again. Evopolis was buried, along with the corpse that was the Ultimate Deathsaurer.

The next matter was rebuilding. New Helic City was in ruins, along with most of the Helic Republic. The Empire suffered much fewer, though still extensive, losses. It would take years to rebuild.

But the most important matter, in Van's opinion, was Raven's trial. Nobody trusted him, save for Van. He didn't know why, but Raven seemed… different, somehow. To Van's surprise, Raven did not fight when the MPs arrived and clapped handcuffs around his wrist. He simply walked, quietly, as they led him to the Gustav, specifically customized for the purpose of transporting Raven to prison.

The world feared and hated him, and who could blame them? He had killed thousands. But something had changed him. Something had caused him to lose his thirst for blood.

He was taken to a military prison in Guygalos, to be held until his trial. The other prisoners were terrified of him, and avoided him like the plague.

Van went to visit him. He was led to a small room with thick walls, which looked to Van like it was meant for executions.

There was a small table at the center of the room, with a chair on either side. Van noticed one was bolted to the floor. He did not have time to wonder why, as Raven was walked in through one of two doors that led into the room, and was cuffed to the chair.

Van sat down, not exactly sure what to say. "Why are you here?" Raven asked. He did not sound angry, but genuinely confused.

"I needed to talk to you about your trial. It's only two weeks away, and Colonel Shubaltz suggested a compromise." Van replied.

"A compromise?" Raven scoffed. "Nobody would agree to any compromise concerning me. The world wants me dead, Van. That's all there is to it."

Van had expected a response like that. "Not everyone wants you dead, Raven. Believe it or not, many people want you out of prison and in action, for many reasons." Van stopped for a moment to see what effect this would have on Raven. Raven did not speak, and his face revealed nothing.

Van continued slowly, "Colonels Shubaltz and Herman have both agreed that you will be cleared of all charges on the condition that you serve in the Guardian Force."

Raven spoke again, with an undercurrent of anger in his voice, "So they want me to work for them. What a surprise. And if I say no, I get a death sentence. How considerate."

"It's not like that, Raven. They aren't forcing anything on you. They're offering you freedom. That's a big deal."

"I'm weighing my options."

"Don't be like that."

"What should I be like, Van? I'm facing a death sentence which I rightly deserve, and I'm being offered freedom by the people who put me here in the first place! You're telling me to either work for you or get gassed in front of a million people. What do you want me to say?" Raven said, incredibly angry now.

"I want you to accept the offer."

"Listen, Van. One way or another, the Guardian Force is going to kill me one way or another, whether it is an execution, a failed mission, or a shot in the back of my head. I don't see why—"

"Reese has already agreed."

This caught Raven off guard. "What?"

"You heard me," Van said. "Reese was already approached, and she accepted the offer."

Raven was shocked. Not because Reese had accepted, but because Van had expected him to care—and because he found that he actually did. "Reese accepted? When?"

"About a month ago. It was a lot easier to contact her, though. Do you have any idea how much security you need?"

"Don't change the subject. Why does the Guardian Force want me working for them?"

With this, Van fell silent. The answer was kept secret, even among the Guardian Force. It was a dangerous subject, and Van had hoped Raven wouldn't ask about it. He spoke just one word, a name they both knew all too well. "Ambient."

Raven did not believe what he was hearing. Ambient should have died along with Hiltz and the Deathsaurer! He couldn't be alive. It wasn't possible.

Ambient. That name stuck in Raven's head, until long after Van left. Ambient, the red organoid. Ambient, Hiltz's partner in his bloody rampage. Ambient, the organoid that killed Raven's parents.

Ambient.

Raven and the Guardian Force came to an agreement. Raven would serve with Van, the only pilot he truly respected. He would not take orders from him. They would be considered equals in rank. Anyone Van could command, Raven could too. That was fine by the Guardian Force.

In truth, Raven didn't care about the terms. He didn't care who he served, or who served him. He didn't care who had to die.. All he cared about was Ambient.

Once again, Raven was out for blood.


	2. Chapter 1

Apologies for taking so long to upload chapter two. I guess for now all I can give you is another re-edited version of chapter 1.

* * *

Chapter 1

The sun was rising as the small band of zoids entered the desolate town, casting long, dark shadows over its charred remains. Van Flyheight gasped in shock as he watched the thick, black clouds of smoke darkening the sky. Behind him, Thomas Shubaltz and three Helcats stared in awed silence.

The group slowly made their way through the broken streets, examining the crumbling buildings around them. Stepping carefully over bodies and rubble, they were constantly looking around, searching for hostile zoids.

The lead Helcat decided to break the silence. "What the hell happened here?" he wondered aloud.

"That's what we're here to find out," Van responded. "Thomas, check for survivors," he continued, before turning to the Helcats. "You three, check for tracks. If you find any, tell me."

After receiving a quartet of "yes, sirs," Van began to eye the buildings surrounding him with greater focus. Well, what was left of them, anyway. Most of them had been reduced to piles of ash, and those that hadn't weren't much better off. As he slowly progressed through the town, he noticed that the state of the buildings got slightly better toward the center, and that a few of them weren't even on fire. Turning toward the center, he saw that there were more bodies in the streets there than there were in the surrounding area.

His train of thought was broken by the lead Helcat's pilot. "Sir, we've found a set of tracks. I think you should see these."

"I'll be there in a second," Van replied, turning to see the Helcats huddled together around what he presumed were the tracks they'd found. After slowly making his way to them, he asked, "What's the problem?"

"It's these tracks, sir," one of the pilots replied. "They're... odd." He shifted his Helcat's head in their direction, then stepped back so Van could get a closer look.

They were definitely from a zoid, albeit a very small one. Their shape was the familiar three-toed foot of a raptor-type zoid, but was much smaller than any Van knew of. "Do you have any idea what could have left these?" he asked the lead Helcat.

"Not a single clue. We figured you would," he replied.

"Wonderful," Van said with a sigh. "It's gonna be fun fighting new zoids that I don't know anything about. Follow these tracks," he told the Helcats, "and see where they lead you. Contact Dragonhead base once an hour with your progress, and keep it slow and quiet. We don't want whatever left this knowing we're following them."

"Yes sir," they all said, before activating their stealth unit and disappearing.

Van turned around and headed back to the center of town. When he reached it, he came to a quick halt, surprised by what he saw. The town center was dominated by one building, which had all but fallen apart under the beating it had taken. Its roof had caved in, and its two still-standing walls were pockmarked by bullet holes and lined with slash marks. The most obvious mark, though, was a gaping hole in one wall, with perfectly smooth, round edges. Without approaching it, Van knew what had made it. Only one weapon in the world could leave a mark like that. "Damn it," he exclaimed. "Thomas, get over here."

"But you said–" Thomas sputtered.

"It doesn't matter what said before, Thomas," Van replied, shaking his head slowly. "You're not gonna find anyone."

Surprised, Thomas slowly walked over to the building Van was standing by. "What's wrong?" he asked warily.

"See for yourself," Van replied, directing Thomas's attention toward the hole. "That remind you of anything?"

Thomas looked at it, almost immediately recoiling inside his cockpit. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"I wish," Van replied softly. "Have BEEK check that for charged particle residue. I'm going inside."

"Inside what?" Thomas exclaimed. "There's no inside left!"

"Maybe so," Van said, "but they didn't completely destroy it. If they'd wanted to, they could've. After all, they did to the rest of the town. Something tells me there's something in there." With that, Van exited his liger and entered the building through its heavy steel doors. He met the inside with horrified silence.

He had entered into a simple lobby, with cushioned benches and a desk at the far end. Spread throughout the room were dozens of bodies lying face down in pools of blood. Seated in a chair at the desk was another.

Van rushed over to it examine it, trembling with anger when he reached it. Seated in the chair was the body of Emperor Rudolf's regent, Homaleff. His neck was lined with deep puncture wounds. Their pattern revealed what had caused them; he had been bitten, hard, by an organoid. It didn't take much thought to realize which one it had been.

Van stepped back, shaking his head and sighing.

"Raven's gonna be pissed."

* * *

Ambient growled quietly, waking from a light sleep. He lay atop a large crate, one meant to host a small zoid. It was merely a convenient coincidence that it made such a good bed. Around him were many other, similar crates of different sizes. He was in a large warehouse, and had been for several hours, waiting for his unwary prey to arrive.

Standing slowly, he peered over the edge of his lofty resting place, he saw that it had finally arrived.

Humans. There were six of them, and they were talking loudly with each other, unaware of Ambient's presence.

He leaped from his crate to one closer to them to hear what they were saying.

"... just a bunch of Guysaks," one was saying to the others.

"You're joking, " another said, a shocked expression on his face

"Nope. Gustav comes in, and the boss asks if the Gunsnipers are there like they're s'posed to be. Guy just looks at him and laughs," the first one continued.

"Unbelievable," one of the others said. "That's the third time in two months this has happened. What'd the boss say?"

"What do you think? He went all crazy on that guy. He almost pulled his gun out."

Ambient had heard enough. The shipment had come in as planned. Now, it was time to continue. He jumped down, right in the center of the group.

"What the hell?" one of them exclaimed.

Growling angrily as they stepped back in fear, Ambient bared his fangs and whipped his tail back and forth, pleased by the terrified expressions on their faces.

Oh, what fun.

As the humans came to their senses, Ambient stepped forward, roaring loudly. The largest among them reached slowly to his waist to draw a handgun that he hoped would protect him.

It wouldn't.

Ambient flew into the man, knocking him on his back and sending his weapon flying. He began to tear madly at him with the claws on his hands and feet, ripping his abdomen open and spattering the floor with blood, roaring madly the whole time. As he screamed in pain, Ambient turned from him and towards the men surrounding him, to be showered with bullets from the men surrounding him.

Shrugging them off, Ambient snarled with hatred. The fun was just beginning.

* * *

I'm a filthy, dirty liar. I told you that chapter two wouldn't take so long, but here I am, and it still isn't out yet. Hopefully, this is better than it was before. I expanded the bit with Ambient and fixed the line spacing, and also changed the beginning up a bit. The second chapter is in progress, but the flash drive it was stored on has gone missing. When I find it, I will get back on it immediately. A new character will show up, but won't be named, and Raven will kill something. Probably. Anyway, sorry this is all I can give you.


	3. Chapter 2: The Ruins

Chapter II: The Ruins

New Helic City stood, blackened and crumbling, as a monument to the destruction caused by the Death Stinger three years before. Its once-crowded streets were usually empty, save for the occasional pack of feral dogs. Heat distortion radiated off the ground and buildings, as the hot noon sun shone on the city, its light enough to blind someone. At a glance, the city appeared to be abandoned. However, if one were to look closer, they would find thieves, bandits, murderers, and black market traders hiding in the shadows.

Once the second Deathsaurer was destroyed, reconstruction of New Helic City quickly became one of the Republic's top priorities. When early demolition teams that were sent in to clear the wreckage were destroyed, that changed. The ruined city had very quickly been occupied by several groups of bandits, who made reconstruction an impossibility. Due to the vastly weakened state of both the Guylos and Helic militaries, this was allowed to remain unchecked. Over time, the city became a sort of central hub for criminal activity within the Republic.

While one could not easily tell from the outside, there was always business going on in the city. Arms dealers selling illegal weapons made their homes in the largest buildings, storing their goods there. Mercenaries and bandits would come from miles around to buy these weapons, which was what a group of three pilots were planning on doing as they led their zoids through the city streets.

The leader of the group, a man in his early twenties piloting a Gordos with mounted Supercannons, was nervously watching his surroundings, a habit he'd picked from being ambushed one too many times. His two companions, piloting a Command Wolf and a Red Horn, both armed with illegal weapons, were not so cautious, making a large amount of noise as they plodded through the city streets. "Could you two possibly be any louder?" he said, sighing with frustration.

"Sure can, boss," the Command Wolf's pilot said snidely, firing the beam cannons mounted to his zoid's back. The shot hit a nearby building, and the resulting explosion sent debris flying, only to rain down on the Gordos's head.

"Cut that out, jackass!" the Gordos's pilot yelled, kicking the comm unit in anger. "Do you _want_ to get us killed? Do you think that a bunch of murderers are going to take kindly to you destroying their neighborhood?"

"They won't do anything to us," the Red Horn's pilot chimed in. "We've got enough firepower to level this whole place."

"Not quite," the lead pilot replied. "Besides, no matter how big your guns are, you're obviously too stupid to use them."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" the Red Horn's pilot demanded angrily.

The leader turned off the comms, not wanting to continue the conversation. After three months of working with these morons, he'd gotten tired of hearing them yelling at him. Sinking back into his chair, he decided that he'd kill them the first chance he got. Chuckling at the thought, he urged his zoid onward at an agonizingly slow pace, the Supercannons mounted on its back slowing the already slow zoid down to what seemed like a snail's pace. Being used to piloting a much faster Zaber Fang, he was easily irritated by the massive Gordos.

With the slow pace of the zoid leaving him nothing to but wait until he reached his destination, he sighed and sat up, searching his surroundings for something even slightly interesting. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a streak of red light shoot through the air, ending on a balcony at about the same elevation as his zoid's cockpit on a nearby building. Intrigued, he moved his zoid closer to the building, inspecting the balcony. There was nothing there.

Willing to use any excuse to get out of his Gordos, he grinned and turned on his comms, saying, "You two watch my back. I'm gonna check something out." Without waiting for a response, he turned off his comms with a punch and brought his cockpit up to the balcony. Opening the hatch, he grabbed a pistol and a flashlight and leapt onto the balcony.

Once there, he walked through the sliding glass doorway attached to it into a large, spacious apartment. It had obviously belonged to a very well-to-do family, as the furniture was very luxurios and expensive-looking. A large flat-screen television sat face-down on the floor, broken, as it had been knocked over by some kind of impact. A few books were scattered across the floor, and a doll and a teddy bear lay on the ground near a couch, but other than that it looked relatively clean, as it had been quickly deserted during the attack on the city by the Death Stinger. A thick layer of dust was all that suggested that it had been abandoned. Well, that, and a foul smell emanating from the kitchen, courtesy of a fridge stocked with three years' worth of rotten food. Pinching his nose shut, the pilot began to search the apartment for clues as the source of the red light.

There was a set of odd prints in the dust, leading out the front door of the apartment, which led into an unlit hallway. Turning on his flashlight, the pilot followed the tracks into the hallway and shone the light around to make sure he was alone. The light glinted off of something on one end of the hallway, and he ran over to it to see what it was.

The object in question was a bizarre-looking stone tablet, about the size of a book, with odd characters on one side. Its edges were jagged and rough, and a deep gash ran through the side with the characters, obscuring some of them. The pilot picked it up, wondering where it could have come from.

His train of thought was broken by the sound of gunfire outside the building. "Oh, shit," he said, running back into the apartment with the tablet still in his hands. The last place he wanted to be if a gunfight broke out was inside a building like this. Swearing madly, he ran through the apartment and out onto the balcony, only to see that his Gordos had been knocked aside. He tried to look for a fire escape, desperate to get away from the giant target he was standing in.

Outside, his two companions were trying to make sense of their situation. They had just been standing there, minding their own business, when some unknown red zoid had appeared out of nowhere and shot blindly at them, only to disappear almost immediately, using the surrounding buildings for cover. They watched their surroundings nervously, trying to find their attacker.

There! The Red Horn's pilot saw a streak of red running between two buildings. He quickly fired the Beam Gatling atop his zoid, following the path of the fast zoid. He did not manage to hit it, instead hitting the surrounding buildings and sending bits of concrete and broken glass everywhere. He continued to fire, rotating his gun and leaving a line of destruction on more buildings. The Command Wolf's pilot decided to do the same, firing off several shots into random buildings and creating a shower of debris.

With both zoids firing blindly at their surroundings, they did not notice that the enemy zoid had flanked around them, and was now standing at their rear. Their unknown opponent, the Genobreaker, opened fire on the Command Wolf with its AZ 140 mm shock guns, tearing into its rear armor with ease. As the Wolf and the Red Horn turned to counter, it quickly took cover behind another building, fire from the Beam Gatling and the Wolf's cannon following it.

_Too easy_, Raven thought, continuing to move from building to building, easily dodging the clumsy gunfire from the two other zoids. It had been ages since he'd been in a fight, and he wanted this one to last. Turning so that he would be facing the Command Wolf, which had stubbornly refused to move from its original position, he stepped out of cover and slammed on his boosters. He smashed into the Wolf at high speed and grabbed it by the neck with one of his X-Breakers, squeezing tight and crushing the zoid's armor.

Before either of his opponents reacted, he threw the beaten wolf into the Red Horn, knocking it aside, and fired on both zoids with his shock guns. As they came to their senses, the Genobreaker dashed out of sight again.

The Command Wolf's pilot was understandably upset, having taken most of the abuse from the Genobreaker. Most of his rear armor was damaged or missing, and one of his hind legs wasn't working. Blood trickled down his face from a cut on his forehead, and he had a massive headache. Swearing loudly, he led his now-limping zoid to cover behind the nearest building. The Red Horn's pilot apparently agreed with his companion's decision that it was time to move, and walked off in the opposite direction, trying to find Raven.

This game had grown tiresome for Raven, who was positioning his zoid so that it faced the Command Wolf's new position, through two buildings. His opponents were very poor pilots, in weak zoids, and had been unable to avoid a single one of his attacks, as were most pilots he fought. As the Genobreaker prepared to fire the charged particle beam, a small frown appeared on Raven's face. This was the usual outcome.

The Genobreaker's footlocks deployed, and it body went rigid. A loud, ominous hum filled the air. As the weapon charged, the two other pilots slowly realized what— and who— they were up against. Before either pilot could move, the beam fired, and a brilliant beam of light shot through two buildings and slammed into the Command Wolf's side. It quickly melted through the outer armor, and continued until it reached the unfortunate zoid's core. An explosion followed, as a hot ball of fire burst out of the Wolf's chest, and still the beam continued to burn through the zoid. Warning lights and alarms were going off inside the cockpit, which was rapidly increasing in temperature. After less than a second, the beam of light burst out the other side of the zoid.

The powerful weapon then charged down, having done its dirty deed. With a whimper, the Command Wolf collapsed, waves of heat rising from the massive hole in its beaten corpse. The results could be seen by Raven through the holes the beam had drilled through the two buildings, lined by bright orange, superheated steel. With a groan, the building the Command Wolf had been using for cover gave way and collapsed, filling the air with dust and debris, and crushing the fallen zoid's corpse.

Raven smirked. He hadn't fought in an urban environment in years, and he'd forgotten how much destruction it often caused. Standing his Genobreaker up, he turned to begin attacking the Red Horn. Before he could move, a loud bang filled the air and a huge round collided with the already weakened building Raven was standing next to. An explosion and a shower of glass, steel, and concrete later and the building collapsed on top of him.

For a second, the Red Horn's pilot just sat and stared at the two piles of rubble that had been buildings a few moments before, wondering what the hell had just happened, until he heard laughter from over his comms.

"You two are such morons," the came the lead pilot's voice, filled with mirth, as the Gordos stepped into view. "Oh, why don't we just stand around and shoot at nothing?" he said mockingly. "That'll scare `em off."

"Shut the hell up," the Red Horn's pilot said, breathing a sigh of relief. "What would you have done?"

"Oh, I don't know," the other pilot replied, still laughing. "Maybe _not _stand in one place? Maybe _dodge _a few attacks? You know, the basics of comb—"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the Genobreaker, which had shot out of the rubble with shields and boosters deployed, sending a cloud of rubble into the air and collided with the Gordos's right side. It continued moving, dragging the Gordos with it as it slammed into another building. As the Genobreaker stepped back and deactivated it shield, the Gordos collapsed on its side, dragging dust and debris with it. Its pilot struggled to stand it up, but its legs merely waved around to no avail.

"I hate this goddamned zoid," its pilot groaned, trying once more to stand before giving up.

Raven turned his attention to the Red Horn, which had begun firing its Beam Gatling at him again him again. Realizing what this meant, its pilot turned to run, but was cut short by a barrage of fire from every weapon in the Genobreaker's arsenal. Most hit the Red Horn's front right leg and shoulder area, tearing apart the armor there and rendering it nearly immobile. After a few seconds of sustained fire, the leg gave way and the zoid began to sway, as one of its legs was no longer able to support it.

In a last, desperate attempt to save himself, its pilot turned its Beam Gatling in the direction of the `Breaker's cockpit to fire on it. Before it could, a pair of missiles collided with the gun, disabling it.

"I suggest you get out of the zoid and surrender," Raven said. "Now."

The Red Horn's hatch opened and the pilot stepped out, his hands above his head. "On the ground," Raven said, turning to face the Gordos. Its hatch was open, and he could see the pilot running away from him. "Oh, sure, that'll work," he said with a grim smile. "Shadow, stop him."

Before Raven finished his sentence, the black organoid shot out of the Genobreaker toward the fleeing pilot. Shadow knocked him to the ground and grabbed him by the collar with his teeth.

As Shadow flew with his new captive back to the Genobreaker, Raven noticed that he was holding something odd. He lowered the Genobreaker's head , opened the hatch, and climbed out to greet the package his organoid carried.

When Shadow set his catch at Raven's feet, Raven turned him onto his back with a kick and grabbed what he was carrying from his hands. Examining it, he realized what the markings on it were, and set his boot on his prisoner's chest. "Where did you find this?" he demanded with a scowl.

"I-I found it in a building here!" he stuttered, wriggling his legs and trying to get free.

"And what were you doing in said building?" Raven asked, getting angrier and pressing harder on the prisoner's chest.

"I saw this weird red thing fly in there, and I wanted to check it out!" the now short of breath pilot said, wincing in pain caused by Raven's boot.

"What do you mean, weird red—" Raven stopped mid-sentence, as he realized the answer to his unfinished question. "Shit," he said under his breath. "Ambient."

"Who?" the pilot said, now fearing that his ribs might crack under the force of the mighty boot.

"You and your pal are coming with me," Raven replied. He took his foot off his prisoner and turned him around, cuffing his arms behind his back. He then turned on his PDA to call for transport and discovered that he'd received a message from Reese. It read: "Flyheight is going to Guygalos. Moving fast."

Raven knew that something important had to have happened for Van to go to Guygalos. It had become the impromptu center of Guardian Force operations, and could easily be contacted from anywhere— it would have to be urgent if he needed to actually go there. Given what he'd just heard, it was easy for Raven to come to the conclusion that he did: Ambient had come out of hiding.

"Goddamnit."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Aaaaaaaand I finally did it! A brand new chapter! It took me a while, but it finally got done. Here's one of the reason's that doesn't involvve my laziness: the Gordos's pilot, who will be a recurring character, was originally going to be a comepletely different character. However, after a lot of thinking, I decided that it would negatively affect the story if he was.

This chapter was very difficult for me to write. Not only is it longer than the other two combined, but it contains (believe it or not (who am I kidding, of course you believe it)) my first battle scene, which I think is actually not that great. It was also difficult to write about those three nameless characters, who, for reasons that will remain unknown to you forever, were required to be without a name.

I did notice that I've gotten better at describing things, although I still need a lot of work.

Something that might interest you: readers familiar with this story from before what will from now on be known as the Great Shit Deletion will know that this was as far as I had gotten in the original version of the story. These readers will also know that this is very different than it originally was. Now, on to reviews!

**Gojiralee:** Bit narcissistic, don't you think? Also, it has been fixed. Twice. Pfft, _Tuesday. _Ha.

**Dildog The Penguin Rapist:** Oh, it will be brutal. Believe me. On another note, WHAT THE HELL?

**NeoAurora: **Thanks! I tried to make it as good as possible there. Ambient's gonna be doing a LOT in this story, so stay tuned.

To everone who read and/or reviewed, please continue to do so! Unless you didn't like it, in which case, don't. Until next time!


	4. Chapter 3: Ill News is an Ill Guest

Yes, this just happened. Deal with it.  
Also, apparently I do not own Zoids. My Raynos begs to differ.

* * *

Ill News is an Ill Guest

The bright afternoon sun shone over the capitol of the Guylos Empire, its warm, soft light illuminating the streets. The noise of the city, the roar of engines, the blaring horns, the chatter, the sounds of birds and pets and laughing children, filled the air. As Van stepped out of his taxi, he took a deep breath of clean, fresh air, and smiled. This city reminded him much of his home in the Wind Colony. It was larger, and busier, and certainly richer, but not so different. Thomas followed him out of the cab, and they both walked toward the entrance to the Guardian Force's headquarters.

Guygalos was, in its own way, a remarkably beautiful city. Though it was the largest city in the empire, it lacked the busy, impersonal feel of many other cities, and was completely free of high-rises and skyscrapers. Whereas most other cities had skylines dominated by tall buildings, with bright lights blocking those of the stars at night, Guygalos always had a full, picturesque view of the sky above it. Most buildings were relatively short, with none over ten stories. To make up for the small size of its buildings, the city stretched on for miles. Each region of the city was marked by some monument or other, with obelisks, towers, statues, temples, and huge fountains scattered throughout the city. A substantial portion of the city was entirely dominated by its largest building, the imperial palace. An enormous, expansive structure, the palace was by far the most recognizable thing in Guygalos. Then, hidden among the beautiful, artistic, bluish-grey glass and steel structures that made up most of the city, was the headquarters of the Guardian Force.

Everything about it looked out of place, starkly contrasting the appearance of the rest of the city. It was an unattractive, steely-grey structure with thick walls and high barbed-wire fences surrounding it. With only four floors, it was much shorter than the rest of the buildings in Guygalos. It was also much wider, taking up nearly as much ground as would eight normal buildings. Automated anti-zoid turrets guarded every entrance, their multi-barrelled guns whirring as they occasionally spun to demonstrate that they were ready to fire at any time. A landing pad on the roof held Redlers and several AZ anti-air missile launchers, and attached to the building was a large hangar filled with a dozen more zoids, all ready to deploy at a moment's notice. It was the picture of security.

As was to be expected, it was a difficult place to get into on short notice. Because it housed so many of the Guardian Force's higher ups, as well as generals from either nation that were unaffiliated with the Guardian Force, and, on occasion, the emperor himself, the heavy defenses and strict security were entirely necessary, as it was a prime target for any would-be assassin. It was about as close to impenetrable as a building could get.

Naturally, Van had very little difficulty getting in. As he approached the entrance, one of the two guards stationed by the main gate held his arm out, asking for identification. Almost the instant Van handed the guard his papers, he stepped aside, opened the gate, and let him through. Such were the benefits of being a war hero. After defeating both the Deathsaurer and the Death Stinger, it was difficult to find anyone who did not know his name; it was perhaps the most well-known in the world, save for those of the emperor and the president of the Helic Republic. When he wanted access to something, it was given to him almost without a second thought.

Thomas, however, was not so lucky. Despite the fact that he had worked alongside Van for years, and despite his help in the fight against Hiltz and the Death Stinger, his name had somehow managed to avoid the public eye. Where Van was allowed instant access, Thomas was usually required to sit through a mountain of paperwork and several hours of processing, unless Van came to his aid. As Van approached the headquarters' main entrance, he watched with a grin as Thomas, who had attempted to follow Van through the open gate, was accosted by the pair guards.

"Relax," he said, holding back laughter. "He's with me." The two guards looked quizzically at him, before releasing Thomas. As he brushed himself off, somewhat indignantly, Thomas scowled at Van. "Think that's funny, do you?"

Van nodded, grinning. "About as funny as the time you arrested me, actually." Thomas' frown grew larger, and for a moment he attempted to stutter a rebuttal, before falling silent. "Come on," Van said, gesturing to the door. "We've got somewhere to be."

He led the way into the building, which was nearly as unassuming on the inside as it was on the outside. The main entrance led into a small, cramped room with dull , solid grey walls and security cameras in every corner. Small vents lined the ceiling, designed to pump toxic gas into the room should a security breach occur. On the far end were a pair of doors leading into the next rooms and an elevator. "Going down?" Thomas said, looking to Van as he entered the elevator.

"As always," Van replied. The control interface for the elevator, like the rest of the building, was very secure. A thumbprint, an ocular scan, and a DNA test were all necessary to get the elevator to move. Van routinely completed all three tests, wincing slightly as a small needle pricked his finger, retrieving a drop of blood. For a few seconds, they waited for confirmation, before a quiet beep signified that the machine was finished.

The thick elevator doors closed quickly and tightly, shutting Van and Thomas inside, and, with a sudden jolt, the elevator began to descend at an alarming pace. The ride never grew less uncomfortable, regardless of how many times Van had done it before. Still, it was fast, and it allowed for the real headquarters of the Guardian Force to remain safely hidden from the public. The façade that the building above the surface put up was important to security; it meant that anyone unfamiliar with the building would drastically underestimate its security and defenses. The building's short height belied its actual size; underneath it was a massive complex of secure rooms and tunnels, bunkers, zoid hangars, and massive stores of equipment.

The headquarters was connected to a vast, sprawling tunnel system that spread throughout the city, which was the main reason behind the height limit for buildings in Guygalos. The system, like much of the Guylos Empire, was discovered when Zi was first populated, a remnant from an earlier time. All of the tunnels connected in a central hub directly beneath the palace. Over the generations, the tunnel system had often been put to use by the imperial government. Six years earlier, Gunther Prozen had used the underground system to hide the first Deathsaurer in Guygalos; now, the Guardian Force used it to hide their base of operations.

The elevator came to a sudden, lurching stop, making Van glad that he had neglected to eat breakfast that morning. Its doors opened into a long, sterile, grey-walled hallway, with large, thick windows and steel doors along the walls leading into various rooms. They proceeded through the hallway, easily finding the room they were looking for. It was, after all, the only room with an armed guard—and a familiar one, at that.

"Van. Schubaltz." The tall, barrel-chested redhead greeted them sternly, giving a slight nod in acknowledgement. Rosso looked almost nothing like the man Van had met nearly seven years ago. The former bandit leader had long since become Rudolf's head of security, and he and Viola were almost singularly responsible for Rudolf's safety. His appearance reflected his position; his hair was much shorter than it had once been, his face was clean-shaven, and he wore a heavy, black, armored uniform. The familiar purple stripe still ran across Rosso's face, a remnant from his days as a criminal, but it only seemed to make him seem all the more intimidating.

"Rudolf's in there?" Van said, looking to the door Rosso guarded. Rosso responded with a stiff nod. "I've got some news for him."

"Of course," Rosso said. His voice betrayed no emotion, but Van noticed his subtle twitch as the understanding set in. Rosso was a remarkably intelligent man; he knew that any news that required Van to show up on such short notice was bound to be bad. He stepped aside and punched a code into the small keypad by the door. It slid open, revealing Rudolf's temporary office.

It was, like many rooms in the headquarters, small, grey, and almost completely bare. There was a single metal desk, with only small metal folding chairs to sit on. It, like most Guardian Force offices, was not designed to be used for long. Those that were were found on the upper floors, and were usually much larger and far less grey.

Rudolf sat at the desk, looking extremely out of place in the sterile grey room. His brightly colored clothes clashed against the grey of the rooms, and a visible grimace covered his's face.

As always, Van was taken aback by how much Rudolf had changed since they'd first met. In the three years since the destruction of the Death Stinger, he had grown taller, though he was still shorter than Van, and his hair had grown as well, reaching the middle of his back. The amount of work befitting an emperor had taken a small, though visible toll on Rudolf. Beneath his eyes were dark, wrinkled circles. His disheveled hair stuck out in many places. His foot tapped against the floor anxiously and his eyelids drooped as he rested hishead against a supporting hand, trying to stay awake. It was clear that he hadn't gotten much sleep recently, and Van knew that wasn't likely to change anytime soon.

Still, upon seeing Van, Rudolf's face lit up. He stood and held out his hand, grinning widely. Even though he knew that any knews Van could possibly have to bring would be the worst kind, the sight of Van always brought back happy memories.

Rudolf's exuberant grin made it impossible for Van to avoid smiling back. He shook Rudolf's hand, the dark look in his eyes betraying the smile on his face.

"If you couldn't tell, we've got bad knews." Thomas twitched slightly as Van addressed Rudolf. He'd never really gotten used to how close Van and Rudolf were, and Van's informality always caused him to feel uncomfortable.

Upon hearing that, Rudolf's grin disappeared, to be replaced by the steely resolve that so much of the Empire was familiar with. After successfully ending one war and preventing another, Rudolf had grown into a very popular leader. Most people knew him by his brightly colored, opulent outfits and his often strict, regal appearance and demeanor; the jovial young man that Van had known for years was not very well-known.

"How bad?" Rudolf asked, sitting back down. He straightened his back and brushed a few strands of hair from his eyes, an air of importance already beginning to radiate around him.

"Bad enough to involve Raven," Van replied, gesturing to the door with a free hand. Rudolf nodded at Rosso, who, with a gruff nod in return, closed it somewhat loudly. The message to Van and Thomas was clear: if anything happened to Rudolf while they were with him, it would be on their heads.

Rudolf sighed and rested his head in his hands, his official demeanor once again washed away, replaced by sheer exhaustion. "Of course it's that bad."

Van was torn by Rudolf's reaction. His initial instinct was to break the news slowly and carefully, so that Rudolf would better be able to absorb it all. However, he found that his voice caught in his throat, as he was unable to think of anything to say to dull the impact his words would have. So, knowing that he could do nothing to make the news less painful, he instead spoke quickly and utterly without tact .

"Homaleff is dead."

Rudolf's head bolted upwards, his mouth agape and his eyes wide with shock. The color drained from his face as he stared in silence at Van. "W-what did you say?" he sputtered, trembling, his words broken and halting.

"We found Homaleff dead in a small town near the Imperial side of the Red River border," Van said. Struggling to ignore the look of dismay on Rudolf's face, he continued, spewing the information out cold and emotionlessly, like a machine. "We think the town was attacked sometime last late last night, based on the fires at the time of discovery. Most of the buildings had been destroyed by small zoids of as-yet unknown make. Blast craters and slash marks found on the site suggest that the zoids were equipped with beam weapons and energy swords."

With that, Van paused for a moment, watching Rudolf's reaction as the news began to sink in. His face blank and defeated, Rudolf fell backwards into his chair. "Anything else?" he said hesitantly, not really wanting Van to continue.

"Yes," Van said, his voice grave. "We found charged particle residue on the site, suggesting that the zoids also had access to charged particle weapons. We also found—" He hesitated. For a moment, he remained silent; it was difficult to believe that he'd seen it himself, and its implications were severe. It meant the possible beginning of yet another international crisis, one they had been trying to prevent for the last three years.

Taking a deep breath, Van stated flatly, "We found bite marks on Homaleff's neck and shoulder. He was killed by an organoid."

For a moment that seemed to stretch on for hours, the room was filled with a heavy silence. No one dare to speak, and with the quiet, the small room began to feel stuffy and cramped. As the oppressive silence drifted on, Thomas shifted his wight awkwardly, and was about to open his mouth to speak before Rudolf did.

"I'll alert the Guardian Force," Rudolf said, his voice calm and cool, as the color began to return to his face. "If Ambient's finally decided to come out of hiding, we have to find him—and quickly. If we don't, we won't be able to keep his survival secret much longer."

He stood, his hands pressed hard against his desk, turning his knuckles white. "I recommend telling your friends and family to get somewhere safe," he said darkly. "Ambient knows you, and if he starts targeting you, then no one you know is safe."

He stood up straight, then, his arms behind his back and his chin up, making him appear nearly as tall as Van. "If that's all," he said, "then you are dismissed."

Van and Thomas nodded, and, saluting, turned to leave. As Van reached for the door, Rudolf spoke once again.

"Get some rest tonight. I don't think you're going to have many chances in the future."

"Yes, sir," Van said softly, opening the door and exiting ahead of Thomas. He looked up at Rosso, and, as he saw the look on Van's face, Rosso nodded grimly, understanding the implications.

And, as Rosso closed the heavy door behind them, Van caught one last glimpse of Rudolf, collapsing into his chair in exhausted defeat and sobbing softly.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I'm back!

I'd like to thank the Academy, my family and friends, and all my fans for waiting this long for me to post some new content. Seriously, this is a big milestone; I've finally surpassed the number of chapters I had posted in the original version of this story.

I'd like to hear what you think about the whole "underground tunnel system." The idea originally came about as a way to explain how Prozen hid the Deathsaurer in Guygalos in Chaotic Century. Does it seem too James-Bond-villain-y to you?

Also, I have no concept of the size of buildings in cities. I've never really spent much time in cities, and it's kind of difficult to picture exactly how tall these buildings are. I just remember Guygalos buildings being shorter than most cities'. So, just think "short."

I don't really think I need to say that this chapter is a bit late. The last one was posted more than a year ago, and left us on a bit of a cliffhanger. I had intended to have this done a LONG time ago, but, needless to say, I was struck with a horrible, devastating case of Real Life. Things are a bit different now, and I'll tell you why.

NaNoWriMo.

That's right, I said it. In the next month, I am going to attempt to write 50,000 words of pure fiction. Of the many unwritten stories I have at my disposal, I have decided to take this opportunity to continue this one.

It's going to be tough, but I'll manage. Somehow.

In case you want to follow my progress, or you feel like pestering me about the next chapter (I could seriously use the extra motivation), you can follow me on Tumblr at theleeryone.

And, now that the shameless blog plug is out of the way, on to reviews!

**LuminiaAravis: **I'm glad you think so. I try to keep Raven calm and collected, because that's really the way he usually seemed during the show. He'll get emotional at some points, but, for the most part, he's going to continue to act like everyone's favorite stoic. Also, excellent use of the word "tantalizing." I like it. I would give you so many cookies for that, if I could.

**Requim17: **Thanks! I really stressed out about that battle scene; I'd never written one before, and whenever I write something that fast-paced, it always seems to be a little _too _fast-paced, you know? Also, in order to clear up a bit of confusion: the zoids seen in the last chapter were not, in fact, the ones responsible for the attack on the town in the chapter before. The ones that attacked the town, though canon, have never been in any of the anime series, as far as I am aware. I did, however, do a lot of research on the zoids that did appear, as I wanted them to be as authentic as possible.

Also, special thanks to **HeartlessNeoShadow, **who provided a review and a bit of advice to me via PM. To address a small complaint he had "...something about how you started your latest chapter just made it seem like everything that was happening just came out of nowhere. It seemed to me like a weird shift from the ending of chapter 2..."

This story is written from the perspective of Raven and Van. The POV will alternate every chapter (meaning that the next chapter will star Raven) until the end, or until I see fit to change that pattern for reasons THAT I WILL NEVER REVEAL. BWAHAHAHA.

So, following the end of November, expect to see more content. Probably a rewrite of the prologue and the first chapter as well. Also, read my blog.

Oh, one last thing: I'm changing my pen-name to reflect my handle on other websites. So, Gojiralee becomes Leerex.

See you in a month!


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